Sports

Down 0-2, there's no panic in Yankees

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi reacts as he answers reporters' questions during a press conference before an American League Championship Series baseball workout day in New York, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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NEW YORK — Perhaps stubbornly, Joe Girardi says that if his New York Yankees are to go down in this ALCS, they will go down swinging.

So there will be no lineup changes for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series against the Houston Astros on Monday night and no panic from the manager’s office, either.

Through the lens of the veteran Yankees skipper there is no cause for change.

“You know, one or two hits away from being 2-0,” Girardi said on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, where the Bronx Bombers hope to fight their way back into the series after losing the first two in Houston. “So I don’t see many changes.

“Obviously would you rather be 1-1 or 2-0 the other way? Well, yeah. But there’s no panic in them. They’re going to do what they do and see where the chips fall.”

There’s certainly an element of sensible rationalization to Girardi’s words. After a pair of 2-1 losses at Minute Maid Park, the Yankees indeed were a hit or big defensive play away from a win in each game.

Unfortunately they didn’t get either of those, including a bobbled chance to gun down Astros’ speedster Jose Altuve at the plate and avoid the walk off loss in Game 2.

However, Girardi believes he can build a thorough case to his young sluggers for not packing it in just yet.

Start with the 0-2 hole they found themselves in against Cleveland in the ALDS before unleashing a three-in-a-row rally to advance. Then there were the learning curves the younger players went through this season. At one point, the Yankees were 15 games above .500, then slumped to dip all the way down to just four above.

But a strong September set them up for the money month and here they are ready to utilize one of the better home-field advantages in baseball.

“(Midway through the season) guys started to understand that you have to be resilient in this game,” Girardi said. “It’s just part of the game. You’re going to have really tough losses and you have to learn to bounce back.”

In Game 3, the Yankees will face Astros sinker ball specialist Charlie Morton who while no slouch, could offer a break from the brilliance offered by Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander in Games 1 and 2.

The Yankees have had strong efforts from their pitchers as well and hope to get another from veteran CC Sabathia on Monday.

“We know that we have not done a lot offensively, but we have pitched very well too,” Girardi said. “And if we continue to do that, you’re going to have a shot.

“We understand that we were down 2-0 to a team that won 102 games (Cleveland) and were able to come back. Just go out and do whatever ti takes to win a game and see where you’re at.”

CHILD’S PLAY

The deeper the Yankees did themselves, the more attention gets piled on young sluggers Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez who are a combined 1-for-14 in the series with eight strikeouts.

Can they finally shake it off and contribute when their team needs them most?

“These young kids are mature, you don’t have to say much to them,” Sabathia said. “I don’t know if it’s maturity or just being dumb, they don’t know. This team is really good (at bouncing back) for a young team.”

In contrast to Judge, the Astros are getting massive production from Altuve and Carlos Correa, who are a combined 8-for-15 in the ALCS.

“Those two provide so much for us and can literally carry us any given game or any given series,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

As for Judge and Sanchez, Hinch believes they can be heard from at any moment.

“They’re taking good swings against good pitching,” the manager said.

WHAT PRESSURE?

Hinch is well aware there is still work to be done in the series — “It’s not best of two,” he said — but is adamant that his team isn’t intimidated by the magnitude of the moment.

The Yankees may have led the AL with 54 home wins and will have a raucous crowd behind them on Monday, but the Astros intend to feed off the atmosphere.

“We love being here. We’re happy to be in this situation,” the Astros manager said on Sunday. “We’ve worked our tails off to get to this point in the season and we want our guys to embrace it.”

Perhaps that calm has helped with one of the other key aspects of the series — the Astros precision on defence and in base-running, clutch elements in the tight first two games of the series.

“To play clean baseball is what I’m most proud of,” Hinch said. “Being able to make those relay throws, some of the running plays … those are the small plays that don’t get talked about a lot, but they’re hugely appreciated in the winning environment.”

QUICK HITS

The Yankees trail 0-2 in the ALCS for just the third time in franchise history. The other two times they were swept — in 1980 by the Royals and in 2012 by the Tigers … Hinch said he’s yet to decide on a starter for Tuesday’s Game 4 … More reason to believe in the Yankees: They faced four elimination games in a nine-day stretch this season and won and when they went down 3-0 early to the Twins in the AL wildcard game, Girardi’s team didn’t flinch … The Yankees took the off day literally with no workout on Sunday while the Astros had a late afternoon session in the Bronx.